BC Transition Rules From HST Back To PST: Overview And Registration Information

On October 15, 2012, the BC Provincial government released a Notice, "General Transition Rules for the Re-Implementation of the Provincial Sales Tax," which provided an overview of the transition rules to re-implement the PST which will come into force on April 1, 2013. The transitional measures were released by way of a bulletin, and draft legislation will not likely be released until January 2013 as it must be tabled and passed by the legislature. The BC government also recently issued PST Bulletin 001, "Registering to Collect Provincial Sales Tax" to provide information on registering for PST.

OVERVIEW

Similar to the previous Social Service Tax (SST), PST will be a retail sales tax that applies when a taxable good or service is acquired for personal or business use, unless a specific exemption applies. The PST will generally apply to the same tangible personal property (goods) and services that were subject to SST.